Difference
by GaleSynch
Summary: Sometimes one person can make all the difference in the world by just being there. Eventual Naru/Hina. Self-Insert.
1. Unwinding, Unfurling, but Hush

**Summary: **Sometimes one person can make all the difference in the world by just being there. Naruto/OC. Sibling love. Self-Insert.

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT Own NARUTO; but the Oc is mine.**

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**CHAPTER ONE;**

_"Unwinding, Unfurling, but Hush"_

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I sat there quietly as the two men before me debated what to do with me. I rubbed the bandage on my thigh as they talked—more like argue though. Like how my parents argue once in a blue moon. I tried to blink the tears out of my eyes as I thought about them. They're dead . . . was what the kindly old man told me when I described how I last saw them. Dead—as in never moving again; I would never be able to see them again.

Too young. He said I was too young to understand the true meaning of death. He had smiled at me sympathetically then.

"Please, Danzo, this is not the time to argue about this." The kind old-man said.

The mean old man retorted almost instantly. "Not the time to argue? You're too soft. How can we tell that the girl is not a spy?"

_Spy? What did he mean? I'm no spy. . . at least, I don't think so._

"Danzo! The girl's no older than five or four! How can you accuse her of something that vile?"

"That's the reason why she's more suitable to be a spy! Children are easier to manipulate; they are better used as spies. And tell me," The mean old man spat venomously. "how did a little girl, as wounded as her, made it to Konoha herself?" He jabbed his thumb at me, looking at me with barely contained disdain.

The other old man sighed. "We will not speak of this matter anymore." He held up his hand for silence when the mean old man opened his mouth to protest. "If she proves herself to be a threat, I will take action. If she meant no harm to the village, she's free to be a Konoha citizen. A ninja even."

The disfigured man bit back a protest. "Yes, as you wish, Hokage-sama." He spat. He turned to walk away. His single eye met my eyes. There was hatred and disdain when he looked at me, but there was a tinge of curiosity in it as well. I did not know what to make of it. My mismatched colored eyes lingered on his as he stomped out of the room. I blinked; my right eye that reflected the moon was partially covered by my fringe, leaving only the other eye that was as green as a leaf to be visible.

I looked right at the only other person in the room with me.

"Don't cry," He murmured softly. I blinked. I _am_ crying; the wetness on my cheeks left by two trails of crystal-colored tears are proof of that. Then I felt it, my heart hurting as the feeling of hollowness invaded me. I wanted to see my parents again, even though it had only been a few hours since I last saw them. I reached up to wiped the tears away, but more kept falling.

Gently, the old man reached out and pulled my arms away from my face. My wide, heterochromia eyes stared up at him, plagued with a fear and grief that he knew that must have came from the depths of my heart. I may be young and might not have completely understood what had happened, but it didn't mean my eyes didn't see what they saw, that my ears didn't hear what they heard. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped my face.

I sniffled but I made an effort to stop crying. He wanted to say something, I knew it. But he did not want to disrupt me from my grieving. I stared at him, sure that my eyes were rimmed red and that I looked absolutely miserable.

He smiled gently. "Now then, child. What's your name?" He asked; his tone soft and curious. I knew that he must have been very experienced with kids that go through the same things as me because he didn't start of at a ridiculous note of 'How am I doing?' when the answer is obvious—like I read in books that my mother used to buy for me.

Grief consumed my heart when I thought of her but I kept my mouth sealed shut. Father had once said that I should not give my names freely. But the man was clearly waiting for an answer. I did not know how to respond. I ended up staring at him blankly.

His face morphed into that of concern. "Child, I don't mean any harm. I just wanted to know your name." I didn't respond . . . again. I averted my gaze to the floor. He crouched down so he can look me in the eye. "Can you speak?" I continued to stare holes into the floor.

_What did he want? My name? Why should I tell him that? Why can't he just get the hint that I don't want to talk to him?_

Outwardly, I kept my face blank; not showing the inner turmoil in me. The confusions and questions. He sighed. "You're not talking, I see. But its to be expected, after what you have been through."

A silence ensued. Until a knock on the door broke the silence. "Enter." The old man said. The door opened. Unable to contain my curiosity, I turned in the chair to look at who had came in. Who I saw was a boy older than me by . . . perhaps five years; his features were as unique as mine. Hair as bright as the sun; eyes bluer than the sky itself; whiskers etched on peachy sun-kissed skin was definitely a rare sight all right. But I wasn't one to say anything. What, with my hair that looked like a blazing red fire and mismatched colored eyes modeled after the leaf and moon.

The boy, I can tell, was an exuberant child and I had no doubt that he would start talking a mile a minute if I hadn't been there. He looked at me with open curiosity, while mine was much more contained.

"Who's she, old man?" He asked, tone rather rude. But the 'old man' just smiled fondly at the little boy. They may not be related—I can tell just by their looks—but I know that the old man treated the little blonde boy like his own grandson.

His smile falter when the boy asked that. "Unfortunately, Naruto" —_Naruto? Odd name. Reminds me of a brand of ramen_—"she wouldn't say." The boy walked towards me, a bounce in each of his steps. He looked at me, a grin tugging on his lips.

"He-ya, my name's Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be a Hokage!" He beamed at me so brightly that it almost hurt to look at. "What's your name?"

I looked at him, not offering any reply. But unlike the old man, he did not wait long for me to answer before he decided that I would not talk no matter what. He started telling me stories about himself that I really had no wish to hear about. I looked up at the old man, a slightly pleading look in my eyes to stop the boy from talking my ears off.

There was a twinkle in the old man's eyes as he smiled. I did not like that twinkle, it spoke of something that seems to be horribly permanent. "Naruto." He called the boy's name for his attention; and he got the undivided attention like he wanted. "This girl here, is a new citizen of Konoha" —_What? He didn't even ask for my assent. Oh, not like I'll tell him anyways_—"but for now, she has nowhere to stay. I'm thinking of letting her live with you. What do you think?"

The boy—_Naruto,_ I better start referring him as such—grinned widely. "Sure, no problem! There's a lot of space in my apartment anyways." He looked at me—to be more specific, the bandages on my thigh and forearms that were spotting blossoms of red blood that had seeped out of the wound.

They will be closing soon, I thought idly.

"Is she a ninja?" He asked. What an odd question. Do I look like someone that can fight? If I am in battle, I was pretty sure I would go down in a second.

The old man looked at me as well. "Maybe. That's if she even wants to"—Here, he grimaced, and muttered softly that I nearly missed what he said, "after what had happen—"But for now, she may follow you to the Academy. Its fine even if she sits in class. She may learn something." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in slight frustration. "But until she talks, we may not be able to decide anything about her."

Softly, he murmured under his breath so neither the two of us kids in the room could hear him. But I heard him since I was closer to where he was standing. "I'm too old for this."

A small tentative smile played on my lips at his tone but it was gone the moment I was reminded that I have to live with Naruto, a boy I just met minutes ago—a painful reminder that my parents are gone, that was why I have to live with this boy.

I slowly stood up, and trudged after Naruto who was ahead of me, chattering excitedly about various things—things which I paid half my attention to only. I spared a last glance at the old man who was smiling fondly at us even if one of us—or maybe both of us—didn't see it.

I bit my lip, unsure as to how I should feel at this progress. But the old man's eyes said everything. And the tone he used earlier when he spoke with the man, Danzo said that he would not harm a child—or anyone for the matter—unless necessary. And he loved his village.

I would just have to adapt to life here—_Unwind and unfurl, but hush._

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**A/N : **

_And... Yeah, that concludes the first chapter._

_Mm, reviews are appreciated. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter, whether it be about how much you loved it, hated it, or just some constructive criticism is fine, too._

_So, yeah... Please review! It'll help me get the ball rolling on this story. (:_


	2. It's My Secret

**Summary: **Sometimes one person can make all the difference in the world by just being there. Naruto/OC. Sibling love. Self-Insert.

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT Own NARUTO; but the Oc is mine.**

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**CHAPTER T_W_O;**

_"It's My Secret;"_

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_Will Naruto ever stop talking?_ I wondered.

I blinked at him as he continued chattering non-stop of his life in Konoha. We were walking down the streets of Konoha—Naruto promised me that he would show me around the village—and I was feeling more and more uncomfortable as time passes. I did not know whether or not Naruto noticed—but I definitely did. But I don't understand why the villagers would throw him hated glares and dirty looks.

What did he do wrong? As far as I was concern, Naruto's an orphan, shouldn't the looks he would be getting was something akin to sympathy? Is Konoha that cruel after all? Is this how citizens of Konoha acts?

Suddenly, my right eye throbbed in pain. _Not now!_ I pleaded, but to no avail. A flash of screaming and yelling flashed through my vision—excruciating pain; people gathering above my vision, all carrying weapons and screaming curses: something along the lines of Demon Fox.

"—ey! Hey, Red! Are you okay?" Naruto's face, filled with concern. I blinked again.

_Run. _Was the first thing that crossed my mind. I grabbed his hand and pulled him into another direction. Naruto followed, albeit a little bewildered. Unknowingly, I had dragged him into the shopping district.

He absolutely got the wrong idea. He thought I was interested in shopping for stuff. Sure, my clothes are in tatters but I don't mind at all. My parents had trained me in the ninja arts so my whole being was already quite acquaintance with the ground and dirt. As he continued pointing to the shops saying something about everything, I ponder on what he had called me minutes earlier.

Red, he called me red. Most likely because of my hair—personally, I prefer Crimson much better. But I wasn't going to tell him that.

"So, so. Where do you want to go now?" Naruto asked happily, seeming to not notice that I wasn't paying full attention.

Go? Go where? My stomach decided for me—it growled loudly. And I just realized that I was starving, having eaten nothing since yesterday's lunch. Naruto looked stunned for a moment before his face split into a large grin.

"Come on, come on!" he chanted, pulling me towards a ramen stand. "Ichiraku's ramen is the best in the whole world—you'll love it!"

I wasn't so sure. I am not exactly fond of salty food and hated anything sweet for the matter. I only like bitter food. But I guess I can tolerate the salty ramen. Beggars can't be choosers. I'm hungry, anything to eat is better than none at all. I allowed Naruto to drag me to the ramen's stand. I tried to read the signboard, but being dyslexic, it was murder to my eyes seeing as it was written fancily.

I looked away before my head became dizzy from the effort of deciphering what was written there. But I had a pretty good guess of what it was. Ichiraku's Ramen. Me and Naruto sat at the very corner of the booth. Some of the customers who had been eating there stopped eating and hastily paid then left. After they had looked at us—to be more specific, Naruto. I don't understand—the villagers are just so frustrating—why they acted as if Naruto was a time-bomb, why they seemed to fear him and hate him when he couldn't possibly have done anything wrong.

The owner of the ramen stand turned towards us. His grin rivaled that of Naruto's. Those that seemed normal has blindingly crazy grins. This village is just _weird_. "Now then, Naruto what do you and your little friend want to eat?"

"The usual, please." Naruto replied. He looked at me. "What do you want to eat? You can order anything you want, I'm paying."

I shrugged. Naruto can choose whatever ramen he wants for me. To me, all ramens are just salty and unhealthy. In the end, Naruto ordered miso ramen when it was apparent I wasn't going to answer him. for the first time, he frowned. At me.

"Why don't you talk?" He asked. "Can't you talk?"

I didn't answer but Naruto continued talking anyway; this time, in a subdued tone. "Hey, I wanted to say thanks." He rubbed his forearm nervously, as if he was remembering something that had once been there.

I raised an eyebrow, silently asking him what did he meant. I did nothing for him but just ignoring him. That wasn't something he—or anyone else—would thank me for. He caught the look and elaborated. "When you nearly fall, earlier, the villagers looked ready to beat me ... again." He frowned. "I guess they thought I was the one that made you nearly fall."

I blinked rapidly, truly perplexed now. _What? _Why on earth would they beat him? I was a stranger to the villagers, why would they care if Naruto had truly been the one to make me fall? From Naruto's face, I don't think he knew either. He just knew the villagers hated him; I knew that to, in one glance. Belatedly, I realized that the villagers just wanted a reason to beat Naruto. This just leads back to one question: _Why?_

The need to know—curse my curiosity—was nearly driving me nuts. The Old Man said that this village was a peaceful place. But, what kinda peaceful place is this if the villagers beat up a little kid? Sure, Naruto's features were odd, but is that a reason to beat him up? Is this villagers full of racists?

The sound of bowls slamming down onto the counter snapped me out of my internal musings. "Yaha!" Naruto cheered, back to his happy self again. "Itadakimasu!" he started gulping down the noodles as if there was no tomorrow. Won't he choke if he eats that fast?

I pulled my chopsticks apart and started slurping the noodles. Sure it was salty—which my taste buds are not really fond of—but it wasn't half-bad. It actually ... quite nice. I can understand now why Naruto likes ramen so much. By the time I was through with the first bowl, Naruto was tapping his fingers impatiently on the counter, waiting for his order to come. My eyes nearly bugged out when I saw that he had already eaten five bowls of ramen.

_And he wants more? Unbelievable._

"Hey, Red?" Naruto called. I looked at him, silently acknowledging the name he had given me. "How did you know that the villagers are going to beat me up?"

The question is: How did he knew I know.

My face must have reflected something because he was explaining why to me. "Hey, I may be careless at times, but it doesn't mean I don't know anything. You had a slightly panicked look in your face that screams you knew. So you dragged me away ... right?" He asked, hopefully.

I nodded. "You didn't answer me." Naruto pouted. "I asked you how you knew but you didn't say."

I spoke then. For the first time that day:

_"It's my secret."_

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**A/N: So ... this chapter dwells into what abilities the OC will have in the future. Can anyone guess what it is? Again, Review!**


	3. A Step Back

**Summary: **Sometimes one person can make all the difference in the world by just being there. Self-Insert.

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT Own NARUTO; but the Oc is mine.**

**CHAPTER T_H_R_E_E;**

_"A Step Back;"_

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Naruto looked at me bewildered. His face lit up like a Christmas tree when he confirmed that I had been the one that had talked. I was ready to bet that he was very sure that I would never ever talk to him or anyone else.

"You can talk!" He yelled, excitement lace in his voice. I heaved a sigh. I was already regretting saying anything to him. My family—which consisted of me and my parents only—are naturally quiet. And doesn't talk unless there's something to talk about. So I am not very fond of talking to socializing with anyone else. I lived in a very secluded area; this is actually the first time I met someone around my age. Which by the way, was abnormal—I know, but neither me nor my parents really mind that I didn't have children to interact with. To have a normal childhood.

"So, so...what's your name?" Naruto asked, breathless.

"Hazuki..." _Leaf and moon, _I loved my name. The name was given to me because of my eye color. One as green as leaf, and the other as silver-yellowy as the moon. It suited me and everyone that knew why I was given that name agree so.

"Oh, like your eyes?" Naruto asked, curiosity etched onto his face. "If it is, it suits you!" He chattered on excitedly.

_You ain't the first one to say so, Fishcake._

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"Oh man!"

I squeezed my eyes shut against the sunlight that streamed into my eyes. That's it. I hate the sun—not only is it the complete opposite of my right eye, it also never fails to blind me or disrupt me. But for today, the sun is only partially to blame for waking me up. The other reason is Naruto himself. Why was he screaming in the early morning anyway?

Not being able to sleep with all the noise Naruto is making—I reluctantly turned around in my bunk bed to face him. Yes, since we're living together now, The Old Man got us another bed altogether. I got the top bunk while Naruto got the one below me. Good, he's so clumsy, I'd hate to be stepped on by him when he tripped and fall if he got the top bunk.

"Why're you screaming?" I mumbled sleepily to Naruto who was rushing around, looking for his clothes. I rubbed my bleary eyes as I took in my surroundings. Naruto isn't exactly someone that was tidy. His whole apartment was a mess; I am not exactly someone very neat either. Actually, I don't even know how to clean the house. The chores in the house was done by Naruto—who, by the way, has no idea to clean the house either—while I'd slack off. So it wasn't surprising that Naruto has to rush around, looking for clothes.

And speaking of clothes...Urgh...Naruto has a _very, very _horrible taste in them. He's training to be a ninja, but his ninja outfit isn't subtle at all. They never mentioned it but I knew my parents were ninjas—quite powerful ones too—and I learned quite a lot about being a ninja from them. The clothes that ninjas were supposed to wear are to make them blend in with their surroundings, not make them stand out among their surroundings. But Naruto didn't seem to know that. He'll be dead once he set foot out of the village to fight an enemy. He'll be the easiest to spot and, therefore, be the first to attacked.

"I totally forgot that there's going to be a quiz today!" Naruto moaned.

I blinked. "I hope you're not blaming me. You're showing me around the village yesterday after all." I said. Truth to be told, I don't really care if he blamed me or not.

"NO! Of course not!" Naruto immediately protested. Sighing, I threw the covers away from my body and got up. Completely ignoring Naruto that was doing some last minute studying—though I doubt it will help him at all, I started peeling the bandages off my hands and legs. One day is more than enough for my wounds to heal. My mother who was from the Uzumaki Clan told me that it was a perk of being an Uzumaki. We can heal more faster than most ninjas.

I rubbed my skin that no longer spotted any scars or blood. My skin was now back to peachy colored. I hoped that the Hokage or Naruto wouldn't notice that I had healed so quickly. I had no wish to answer them. Especially not when my Clan was supposed to have been eliminated in a war. My mother barely managed to escape with her life. She met my father and blah, blah, blah. You know the story.

"Come on, Haruki—get dressed or we're going to be late!" I was reluctant to get up but I needed to. With tons of grumbling and quite a lot of swearing—my mother wasn't exactly someone that was gentle or ladylike—I toileted, showered and changed into a baggy cream colored coat that reaches my knees. Underneath the coat is a fishnet shirt under a white tank top. Naruto was practically vibrating with impatience. It took quite a while to put on my grey-black sandals.

By the time I was done, Naruto was hauling me towards the Ninja Academy. In the end, I decided to follow him to the Academy since I had nothing to do while he was there. I followed Naruto meekly as he continued to talk—apparently, he had forgotten about the quiz or exam he was supposed to take. After knowing him for about only a day or so, I was no longer surprise, he just strike me as the type to goof around and never take things seriously.

Naruto got quite a severe scolding from the teacher that bothered about him. Naruto said his name was Umino Iruka—he seems quite nice but I wasn't sure I can trust him just yet.

Iruka turned his attention on me after he was done scolding Naruto. His expression softened as he looked at me with sympathy and understanding. "Hokage-sama told me about you—umm, about what happened so that you're forced to stay in Konoha that is." He coughed awkwardly. "Anyways, I guess you will be with Naruto in every class—since you have nothing to do, do you want to go through the same ninja training as the others? They're older and more experienced than you—"

"I'll do it." I interrupted softly. "I've been through training before."

Iruka nodded. "I see." He said. "There is a quiz today, I am sure you didn't study for it since you don't even know about it—but . . . try to answer it, m'kay?" He looked at me for reassurance.

I nodded. He left me rather quickly after that. I quietly slid into the seat Naruto reserved for me—which was beside him. Copying his answers would be useless—it was pretty obvious to me Naruto wasn't an expert when it came to book smarts.

I am not entirely an expert when it came to studying either. Being dyslexic made it hard for me—but how hard can the questions be?

The papers were given out by a silver-haired man. He glared—not so subtly—at Naruto as he slapped the paper down in front of the blonde's face. He passed the paper to me gently, smiling softly. Is he a bipolar?

How hard can the questions be? I got my answer not too soon—All right. Very. Hard.

_Question No.1—Maim the five Elemental Nations._

I blinked owlishly—_Say what?_—They want me to maim the five Elemental Nations. I stole a glance around the room. No one made a move or anything to maim something. I figured it was my dyslexic problems making me see things the wrong way.

'Maim' rhymes with 'Name' and a few others. But 'name' is much more suitable. So name it is.

_1.__Fyre _—I think I misspelled it one way or the other.

_2. Win_—Did I just miss something?

_3. Lightening_—I must have gotten it wrong.

_4. Water_—The only nation I can remember without fail!

_Question No. 2_—_Who founded Konoha?_

Easy, I knew the answer to that one. But I had no idea how to spell it. I scrawled a messy 'Senju' on the paper. But I really don't know how to spell the man's other name. Something along the line of 'Heck-' or 'Hatch' or was it 'Harsh'? The last one sounds promising—the only one that sounds right. The last one is ...: '-irma'? 'irk'? 'ink'?—only the first one sounds plausible.

_Answer: Senju Harsh-irma_—I added a question mark in the back—_?_

I struggled throught the rest of the questions. By the end of it, my brain seemed to have spontaneously disintegrated. But nevertheless, my stomach didn't fail to tell me I am hungry.

"This is horrible." I grounded out through gritted teeth.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. He seemed out of it. No doubt he didn't know the answer to most of the questions. I knew all of it but I just can't spell it; such are the downsides of dyslexic.

"Naruto?" Iruka called. Said boy turned to his teacher who smiled at him. "You did well today—for not skipping just because of some test."

Naruto grinned happily at the praise. "Yeah! Another step to being Hokage!"

I stared at him. "You want to be hokage?"

The Uzumaki boy turned to me, his eyes dimming slightly. Why, I do not know. "Yeah, why?"

I considered that. Hokage was like that kind old man. But he had a harsh advisor, many people trying to overthrow him. Naruto was determined, yes. And if he worked harder, he might just achive that position with his enormous chakra which I do not know came from where. But he was too kind and naive.

Too... too pure.

Innocent might be a better word but the meaning stands.

I had planned on keeping my mouth shut. But against my better will, they opened on their own and the words came flowing out. "You'll never be a Hokage. Not someone like you."

Then I turned and left, leaving Iruka to deal with a enraged and devastated Naruto.

I took another step back.

Back to where we were before.

Total strangers.

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**A/N; Review?**


	4. Perfect Stranger

**Summary: **Sometimes one person can make all the difference in the world by just being there. Self-Insert.

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT Own NARUTO; but the Oc is mine.**

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**CHAPTER F_O_U_R;**

_"Perfect Strangers;"_

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I got a lecture from Iruka after that. But that was to be expected, I'd seen that coming like, a mile away. I just sorta stare blankly at him as he ranted his head off. It probably would've continued for hours but he must've noticed that I wasn't even paying attention to him so he let me off with a warning to not say something that insensitive anymore.

That was going to be hard since I was very stubborn and I'd probably—definitely—do it even more to spite him. I had pretty much memorized the way back to Naruto's apartment so I had no problem finding my way back to "home". As I'd expected also, Naruto didn't even acknowledge me. We got through dinner tensely.

He most likely wouldn't talk to me until I apologize. But I said nothing wrong, I was too prideful. We shouldn't have even introduce ourselves to one another. We wouldn't have even met if my parents had lived. I wouldn't have stayed this long if I hadn't been forced by the Hokage. Things wouldn't have been like this if I'd just keep my mouth shut and not say anything—pretty good at it, too bad it failed me when I needed it the most.

Naruto and I had gone back to square one. Where we were perfect strangers. The next day and the next till the next following weeks, we went through everyday life without talking to one another unless necessary and the fortunately, the drift between us didn't hurt me as much as I'd feared. Unfortunately for Naruto, he felt hurt that I didn't even care to mend our broken and fragile bond.

He should've known better. I should've known better. Such fragile things as human emotions and those bonds...I didn't know how to handle them. And my parents didn't know either, they were hesitant to show their love, proof of their shinobi training. So in the end I was the victim of their lack of knowledge. I supposed it was better this way, shinobis will only end up hurting if they open up their heart to love.

The next day, I was called to the Hokage Tower. The Old Man knew of my and Naruto's argument—Naruto or his ANBUs that did a horrible job of tailing us must've told him—and had been searching for someone to take me in since. I'd taken my very little belongings and had been moved to a civilian family, the Harunos were the first.

But I was kicked out on the third month when I told the daughter of the household, when she was crying after a particular vicious argument with her friend, that she should not view herself as an ugly person, but a beautiful monkey. Apparently, she took it as an insult and the couple sent me to the Hokage. I lived in one of the many orphanage in Konoha with the other orphans—made no friends but lots of enemies—and was kicked out of many within the span of two years until the Hokage assured me I'd been to every one of them.

Finally, someone appeared and took me in.

She didn't just appear, she ran into me. Literally.

Anko Mitarashi was plain crazy. I was just sitting in the Hokage's office—recently kicked out and spent a few nights on the streets—when she came crashing into me. I made her spill her precious dangos and she'd promised killing me in the most painful and excruciating way she can think of. Being me, who couldn't hold my tongue, too dazed, I slurred some uncomplimentary words to her.

I can bear that she was bad-mouthing me but not my family. Claiming that my parents didn't teach me manners and were useless just set me on edge.

I'd snapped, glared at her and called her a whore. I didn't know what it meant but I thought it was fitting. After realizing what I'd just said, I was expecting her to bitch at me and really kill me for that but the crazy lady just smirked.

What she said scared me somewhat.

"I like those eyes," Anko'd murmured, leaning closer to me which had me inching away. "You'll make a good ninja. I know you can kill without hesitation, those eyes say it all..." she'd licked her lips as if she wanted to taste me.

I was about to say something smart-ass when the Old Man—he couldn't be serious!—announced Anko as my official guardian. She had no objections much to my dismay.

Instantly, she took charge of my life. She claimed that the ninja Academy was way below standards and decided to train me herself. She and I left the village under the pretense of training session for quite a few years. But I knew that was a lie. I'd still maintained my freaky ability to see things no one can—not in the way of the Sharingan and Byakugan—and saw a mission scroll. A spying mission to be exact, I didn't find out who we were going to be spying on though.

As time passed, it became clear I wasn't going to go snooping around for information with her. She went alone while she left me with scrolls to do some training. I always listened to her since her serious expression as she warned me—everytime she did this without fail as if she was terrified I'll do disobey her—not to leave the area or go after her unless in an emergency.

I saw very little of Naruto in those years I was out of the village. Sure, he'd sent me letters after he found out I left the village and was sad about it and wished that we could be friends again—I myself didn't know when we became such but I didn't correct him on it. They were long and depicted his every day lives. I never bothered to reply, because, seriously we weren't close or anything. Just spent a few weeks together and had seen each other in passing in Konoha.

There was this one time when Anko and I stopped in Wave Country and came across a very poor village. Naruto and his team—he'd graduated, one step closer to being Hokage, he'd said—had been hired to protect Tazuna, the bridge-builder as he finished his work.

Supposed to be the team's first C-Rank mission. But they got more than they asked for, turns out it was an A-rank mission. Anko'd dropped me off in the village and left for somewhere, claiming she was out of time and needed to hurry and finish the long time mission since they'll be going back to the village soon.

Guess what, I ended up helping them. My fighting skills were okay for a kid but still, their sensei Kakashi didn't let me fight Zabuza or Haku. Just take care of the minions and protect Tazuna. That I did successfully. After a tearful goodbye (on Naruto's part since I certainly didn't cry) we went on our own seperate ways.

To me, we were still perfect strangers.

And Anko, who was my mentor for months, was also a perfect stranger to me too. We talked and I'm sure she was fond of me as I was of her, but we didn't know much about one another. She had a decade of life she didn't tell me and I have a very short life, not much to tell about my time with my family and the time where I was wondering around Konoha's alleyway—bitter-sweet memories though mostly sour.

In the end...I was still a perfect stranger to Konohagakure.

* * *

**A/N: **_Is it too rushed? I'm not going to make Naruto close to the OC now that I'm re-planing the plot. Most, if not all, of the OC fics that I'd read make the OC and Naruto close. I wanted something different so their relationship will be pretty cold._

_P.S: Check out my other new Naruto story and __**review**__!_


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